NAT Lofthouse today paid tribute to his mentor and predecessor in the Wanderers No 9 shirt, George Hunt, who has died after a period of illness.

"George was always a great help to me," said the Burnden president. "With us both being centre forwards he showed the way a lot during my early career.

"He was at Burnden Park for about 15 years and was a great servant to the club."

Barnsley-born Hun, an England international who started his career with Spurs, joined Wanderers from Arsenal for a £5,000 fee in 1938 and scored more than 100 goals for the club, mainly during the war years. He left for Sheffield Wednesday in 1946 but continued to live and train in Bolton, returning to Burnden as coach two years later.

He served the club as coach and trainer for 20 years and was a key member of the backroom staff when Wanderers won the FA Cup in 1958.

He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for a number of years and died in hospital at the age of 86.

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